Police Chief Says New Building Will Save Money

Cheyenne Police Chief Brian Kozak says it will cost taxpayers more money over the long run to keep the department in it's current location than the $25 Million it would cost to locate a new Public Safety Building in the old Dineen Car Dealership. Kozak says the cost of staying in it's current location over the next 40 years would run at least $29 Million . That's the projected life span of the public safety building project Laramie County voters will be asked to approve for 6th penny sales tax funding on August 21. Kozak says the list of problems with the agency's current location is a long one, including undrinkable tap water, electric issues, a lack of compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act, a lack of space for evidence storage, no elevator system, an obsolete communications system, and numerous other issues.

Kozak says the department moved into it's current home on Capitol Avenue in 1985 after a flood destroyed the department's former building. Kozak says the move at the time was viewed as a temporary fix, but 27 years later the agency remains housed in a building originally designed for a telephone company.